A/N: I do not mean any offense to anyone with my summary of this fanfic. If anyone has been offended by the words I have chosen to use in my summary, I apologize greatly. However, I have used those terms specifically because those political terms do relate to everyone's past and motivations that drive them through this story. So if you dislike the summary, I am sorry.

Also, there are some religious references made from this chapter to probably the end of the fic. I do not believe it is offensive, and as a Christian myself, I do not intend to antagonize any believers out there.

Holy fucking Christ. Matthew's eyes had suddenly glued themselves to Gilbert, who was standing with Arthur, Antonio, Francis, and even Ludwig in tow. However, his eyes were mostly stuck to Gilbert, because Gilbert was suddenly not the Gilbert who wore a random hoodie along with his torn jeans with worn out sneakers to go along with it, unevenly brushed hair jutting out all the time.

No, this Gilbert's hair was in that tousled "I got laid and I'm not afraid to get more" look, styled just like a celebrity's (probably Francis did that; the only people in this school who had such skills were Francis or Feliks…or Kiku…), and he was wearing black leather.

Black, skin-tight, leather.

Decked out in a leather jacket and a tight flannel shirt underneath, with leather pants and laced up black boots, Iron Cross flashing in the light and chains dangling from his hips, Gilbert Beillschmidt looked like what awesomeness was meant to be. Maybe it was because he was albino, but the look fit him.

"Hey there, ladies and gentlemen! Hope you're having an awesome lunch there, especially since the awesome me is here to make your day more awesome!"

Gilbert was waving his hand to the silent students in the cafeteria, cheery smile unwavering even as Arthur elbowed him in the side when the usage of the word "awesome" became one too many.

Oh, now that Matthew could finally rip his eyes off Gilbert, he noticed that the other members looked very nearly every inch as damn nice as the albino.

Arthur was wearing ear piercings (oh God, how many did he have?) and a choker, with a tight navy blue punk shirt, ripped and rugged, suiting his figure nicely. His black jeans were tight, showcasing his nice figure very well. Unlike the usual strands that stuck out at random directions, Arthur's hair had been spiked very deliberately into an admittedly handsome style (also by Francis, Matthew supposed). His converse shoes were the same color as his shirt, and Matthew could have sworn it was the first time he ever saw Arthur wear that brand.

He also could have sworn that several girls and boys were staring at that nice ass (no, Matthew is not into Arthur; he simply knows how to appreciate the good things in life).

Francis was wearing a tight purple v-neck shirt, loose leather jacket hanging snugly on his body. He was also wearing leather pants, though they did not seem as tight as Gilbert's and his shoes were definitely expensive dress shoes of some sort. His hair was tied back into a ponytail, and a single chain necklace adorned his otherwise bare neck.

Antonio was also a work of art, judging by how Lovino was starting to look like he was going to have a heart attack.

The Spaniard's brown locks had been brushed messily down, hanging a bit in his eyes, and a crisp white dress shirt was unbuttoned down a good three buttons or so, exposing a fair amount of toned chest and a glinting small silver cross hanging on his neck. The shirt was not too tight, and complemented the black leather pants nicely. An unbuttoned black vest (was that leather too? Where did they get those things?) hung on Antonio's shoulders as well.

Matthew was so sure some of the girls over there were drooling.

Ludwig, who seemed embarrassed by the entire ordeal and was attempting to hide his body behind the others, was definitely out of his comfort zone. Unless Ludwig was into wearing tight leather tops that exposed a good part of his chest and biceps along with leather pants complete with straps and buckles, a leather cap placed over the usual hairstyle, then Ludwig was very much far from his comfort zone.

Not that Matthew was jealous, just because he had been mistaken for his sister earlier during a chaotic dress up week the first semester and not even Lovino or Yong Soo had recognized him at the time…

Damn, he had not just felt his masculinity die a little.

"So, we want to give you something awesome to get you going with your day."

Only when Gilbert hoisted something onto his shoulder did Matthew realize that they were holding black cases.

Guitar cases.

"Don't worry, we made sure to set it up so that we don't blast you ears out with my awesomeness!" Gilbert assured the audience as they all made their way to a corner in the cafeteria, which had been cleared recently to install a few vending machines, and flung off the white fabric that had been concealing a shiny set of drums and a keyboard there. Oh god, they even had speakers.

Were they seriously…?

The truth sank in as two electric guitars and a bass were hooked up to the speakers, while Ludwig adjusted the drums into the right positions. Nobody at the tables talked, too awestruck or dumbstruck to speak.

When Arthur had helped Antonio set up his bass, and Francis sent an okay sign from behind the keyboard, Gilbert tapped into the sole microphone in the entire area. Arthur plucked a few notes from his guitar and nodded, allowing Gilbert to grin widely.

"Well, folks. Enjoy!"

With those words said, Gilbert adjusted his guitar strap and Ludwig merely sighed, tapping his drumsticks together.

One. Two. Three.

When Gilbert started singing, Matthew realized that the elections were going to be much more competitive than he had ever expected.

This was beyond what Lovino had expected.

When Feli and Kiku had pushed him into this seat, in a weird corner near some even weirder, white fabric covered shit, he had thought that something like a trap was coming.

Well, it was a trap.

It trapped Lovino so damn good that he couldn't find a fucking way to get out of it. All Antonio was doing was plucking on those bass strings every ten seconds or something. Even the albino bastard and potato bastard were more productive than that. The singing wasn't all too bad, and the drums didn't compel him to throw a tomato or two at the damn potato head.

But Antonio, the lazy bastard who probably learned to use that instrument a fucking five minutes yesterday or something, was looking straight at Lovino, and it was fucking attracti—no, it was annoying as hell. He was totally staring at Lovino with this intense look in his eyes, and it really made Lovino want to go kiss, er, kill him. Yeah. Because that kind of staring was like issuing a challenge or something, right?

"Ve~, Ludwig is so handsome! And so is Antonio! Fratello, don't you think so too?"

Hell yes.

Lovino promptly shot down the answer that had been on the tip of his tongue and floundered for a moment, at a loss of what to say. He eventually settled for a more neutral, condescending approach.

"They're exposing an inappropriate amount of skin and muscles just to show off. Don't look, Feli."

Feli frowned. "But fratello is looking at them a lot. Why not me?"

"I'm a guy!"

He felt Belle put her arm around his shoulders as she squeezed him momentarily, body shaking with laughter. Lovino meekly attempted to shove off the touch, but Belle was uncannily good at coercing him into things he'd rather not do, ever since what, second grade? And so was Feli, and Elizaveta, and Kiku, and sometimes that annoying Polish girl, and…

Well, he was a ladies' man. It wasn't his fault.

No, he was not a wimp.

"Aw, c'mon, Fels. Everyone's staring, and it's probably because nobody knew Gilbert could sing decently. I mean, he sings pretty darn well, don't you agree, Eliza?" Belle laughed.

The addressed Hungarian frowned, bleeding nose staunched by a paper napkin held in one hand while the other held the video camera.

"Hmm, my eardrums aren't bleeding right now, so it's not as terrible as I though." She admitted.

Yeah, that was why Lovino was staring. He never thought that Anotnio could actually look so damn hot—no, he meant, um, well….

Damn it all.

"Well, isn't Antonio just so cute?" Elizaveta switched her focus and cooed. "Lovino, you really need to snag him before one of those girls who're positively drooling over there go throw herself over him."

That statement finally made Lovino snap out of the impromptu staring competition that had been going on between him and Antonio for a while, and he looked over at several standing members—girls, mostly—that had crowded over to this side of the cafeteria to watch the performance. Had Lovino not been sitting in the prime seat up close to this temporary stage, he would have barely been able to see with the hoard of girls crowding around.

Girls, who were whispering excitedly and taking pictures with their phones and squealing…and occasionally glancing at Lovino when they noticed where the Spaniard's eyes were resting.

Lovino suddenly felt self-conscious.

Here was with the Spanish bastard, looking at him with a really heated look in his eyes and tanned skin revealed to the public for all to see and compliment, hair staring to stick to his forehead and neck as he sweated, and just fucking good looking.

And here was Lovino Vargas, who couldn't cook as well as Feli, not even strikingly handsome, bad-tempered, with no incredible talent except for some good records in football.

Nobody loves you. Nobody but—

"Ve, fratello! I think Antonio loves fratello very much. How about you cheer for him?"

Lovino opened his mouth, whether to retort with a snap or to do as Feli had asked him to, he was not sure. But all he knew was that his mouth was dry and his mind was reeling and Antonio was looking at him like that. And Lovino just wanted to…

And if you disobey…

He wanted to throw up.

Nobody will ever love you. Not even Him.

Abruptly, Lovino stood up and started to make his way through the crowd. He pushed some girls aside, ignoring the protests and complaints as he swam through the crowd and finally found himself in a relatively unblocked aisle. His legs took him to the cafeteria doors in some sort of desperate sprint, and he was soon out and running, running away from his sister who was calling his name, from whispers and pointed fingers, away from Antonio.

Away from temptation. Away from sin.

Because nobody, nobody but God loves you, and he will abandon you if you do not follow his words.

The words repeated themselves in Lovino's head, running like a broken tape recorder and screaming at him inside his own mind. He wanted to scream, but all he could do was run through the halls, up the stairs, away from those beautiful fucking green eyes that tempted him, tempted him so badly.

Those fucking eyes that said I love you every fucking time he looked at them.

It was a trap. It was a lie. There was no way someone, especially someone as damn popular and fucking gorgeous as Antonio, would ever love Lovino. It was a test or something. A temptation. And Lovino refused to give in to that temptation, that sick belief that someone might really love him for who he was.

That temptation to love that person back. To love a man.

Nobody loves you, nobody but the Lord and if you don't repent, he will hate you just like the others, and that's what you deserve. You don't deserve to be loved, boy.

Remember: you are a sinner, and you must repent.

The woman's words haunted him all the way as he ran up the stairs, all the way back from when he was a child and the cursed woman locked him in that room—

No. Lovino thought miserably as he finally slowed down to a stop, leaning against the cold cement wall and sliding down to sit on the concrete. I'm not in love with him.

He was afraid that he had already given in.

Yong Soo gave up on finishing his lunch and stared at the cafeteria doors that Lovino had ran out of, a mental sigh escaping himself as he clicked his tongue and turned to look at the band finishing the song.

Though Yong Soo wasn't really on close terms with any of Gilbert's group of friends, he sure felt sorry for Antonio up there. The guy looked crushed, disappointment radiating in a very obvious aura as he plucked away the last notes of the song. Feliciana seemed deflated of her excitement she had prior to the Lovino incident.

Well, Kiku and Feliciana were trying to hook Lovino up with Antonio. He could realize that much just by watching them.

Maybe that had to do with why Kiku was helping Gilbert. Aly had been upset about the entire fiasco, and she had been unable to get a reasonable explanation from either Kiku or Arthur Kirkland.

Well, if Kiku was matchmaking a male-male couple, it sort of made sense; Kiku's little hobby regarding that kind of stuff was strictly kept in the dark, and very few people knew about it. Yong Soo knew, but Yao hyung probably didn't. And he bet his money that Aly didn't know it either.

Well, he couldn't really discourage Kiku in this case.

Heavens knew Lovino needed some major intervention on this little Spanish issue of his, and if people were willing to help, Yong Soo was by all means supportive of it.

Which meant that he would need a very good roundabout reason to explain to Aly why he couldn't dissuade Kiku from supporting Gilbert (if he told Aly about Kiku's fangirl mode, Kiku would kill him, in a very tortuous way).

"This is insane! How come nobody is complaining about the noise? And how did the teachers just let this happen?"

Alyssa was stabbing the remains of her lunch with her fork, complaining loudly as the crowd cheered and Gilbert spouted campaign lines. Matthew laughed nervously, trying to look at the way Lovino had exited through and the crowd and Aly at the same time.

"No idea da ze~. It's all part of the tactics. We'll get back at them and do something really cool, so no worries da ze."

Yong Soo just talked without thinking much about what he was saying as he tried to gauge the amount of damage he would receive if he skipped the upcoming class.

Hmm, next was English.

Screw it.

"Hey, I'll go get Lovino." Yong Soo stood up and tapped Matthew's shoulder, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder at the door to indicate that he was leaving.

"But Yong Soo! What about our totally heroic plan to bust out Artie and Kiku from those bad guys?"

Yong Soo patted Aly's head, not letting the cute pout change his mind.

"We'll make plans in computer science class. Besides, lunch is almost over already."

He took his food tray and started off, but he felt a tug.

"Matthew?" Yong Soo looked questioningly at his friend, who looked a little worried—that telltale sign of biting his lips was right there.

"I have something to tell you."

Yong Soo checked the time. "Um, is it important?"

"I…well…not really."

Something was clearly bothering his pal, and Yong Soo really was curious about it. But he was worried about Lovino right now, and if Matthew said it wasn't really that important, then it could wait until later, right?

"Then tell me later, 'kay? See ya guys!" Yong Soo got rid of his tray and ran out the cafeteria, snatching his bookbag before noticing that Lovino's bag was also left, so he took that as well.

He checked the library, then climbed the staircase up the Arts building to check if Lovino was at the soccer field or in one of the classrooms. Lovino had a tendency to go find a soccer ball or sketchbook when he was frustrated…and then end up chucking the pencil or ball away, because he always somehow ended up berating himself for not being "good enough."

Damn Lovino for his inferior complex.

Yong Soo really liked Lovino; he cared about Lovino a lot. Like, I-will-break-your-fingers-if-you-hurt-him kind of a lot.

Lovino was a cool friend, and it was so maddening to see that Lovino hated his own self.

Why couldn't Lovino just admit it? Just admit that Antonio was in love with him and that he loved the guy back and just get together already? Didn't Lovino get it? Having the person you like to like you back was so hard. And Lovino was throwing that away.

Lovino deserved to be happy.

Yong Soo found Lovino curled up into a ball on the roof of the gym, back against the concrete wall of the stairwell.

"Dude, Lovino." Yong Soo dropped Lovino's bag onto the ground in front of the brunette before sitting beside his friend. Lovino didn't answer him, so he kept on talking.

"At least you could have told someone where you're going. I bet Feliciana is worried to death about you… Matthew's probably worried about you too, da ze. By the way, you totally should've seen Berwald's face when the music started; it was hilarious! And…"

Yong Soo trailed off, looking at the auburn head buried into folded arms that didn't respond to him at all.

"And I'm really sure that Antonio likes you da ze."

When Lovino didn't give his usual snarl at the idea, Yong Soo felt alarmed.

"Are you crying?"

Yong Soo tugged at Lovino's arms, trying to see his friend's face. The initial resistance gave away into reluctant submissiveness, which was not at all what Lovino would do, and Yong Soo only felt partially relieved when he saw Lovino's dry eyes.

"Look, Lovino, if you don't like him, you don't have to go out with him da ze. What everyone else says is bullshit."

Yong Soo tried to make eye contact with Lovino and miserably failed.

"But don't lie to yourself."

Then he saw a tear run down Lovino's cheek. Then another. And another. Soon, tears were cascading down the cheeks of one of his best friends.

Shit.

"Damn, I didn't mean to—Oh man, don't cry. Lovino, I'm sorry…"

Suddenly feeling very out of place, Yong Soo rubbed Lovino's back in what he hoped would be a comforting motion to the Italian. Lovino rubbed at his eyes with his sleeve, hurriedly wiping the tears away as he still stubbornly glared at the ground, not looking Yong Soo in the eye.

"I'm not gay." Lovino stated shakily.

"There's nothing wrong with not being straight." Yong Soo answered right away.

"I'm Catholic."

Oh no. Not that argument again.

"Lovino..." Yong Soo was exasperated. "I don't think your God is going to hate you for falling in love."

"I'm not in love!" Lovino hissed so vehemently that Yong Soo stared in surprise.

"Uh…That's some serious denial you're in, da ze."

"I'm not in love." Lovino repeated, though he didn't sound entirely sure of himself. Yong Soo raised an eyebrow.

"What are you so scared of da ze?"

They were best friends since nearly three years ago. They trusted each other, right? They had talked about all sorts of things, some things that even Matthew and Aly and Kiku didn't know about.

Didn't Lovino trust him?

"It doesn't matter if I shouldn't love him, if it's wrong, if other people hate me for it. I love him, I love him and I'm not ashamed."

"…You're crazy."

Just when Lovino seemed like he was about to tell something, something very important, they both heard a scream coming from inside the building.

/ Well, our winner of the little guessing game is Ayla The Librarian, who guessed "punk" correctly and was the first person to come up with it. Congratulations, you win a free oneshot from me! Please check your Inbox for a message from me regarding a few things about the oneshot, and PM me back after you read the message! And kudos to everyone else for making some really good guesses out there!

Yep, punk band. Arthur was into that stuff, remember? XD I was like LEATHERRRR HELL YEAHHHH. And if you think you saw Matthew drooling after someone, well, you never know...

We have some complex stuff happening with Lovino and Yong Soo, since I've just introduced the source of Lovino's insecurity and the reason why he's knee-deep in denial. And is that Yong Soo/Romano that you see up there? Not really. They both care about each other because of some stuff that happened in the past. That's in the prequel to come wayyy later, so just watch the friendship bloom. :P

So who is the mystery woman, and what the heck is that two line conversation in italics up there? The woman's identity comes out later on but let's just say that her take on religion is NOT right, and we'll have more on that. The conversation thing is something that happened in the past. That's all I'm saying for today.

Cliffhanger again! I know, you probably hate me right now.